The ruin to beat all ruins, the Colosseum is perhaps Rome's greatest marvel, breathtaking and beautifully built - for the pure delight in watching the cruellest torture and slaughter of men and animals. The Colosseum was called the Flavian Amphitheatre after the family of emperors who built it, beginning with Vespasian in 72AD. Vespasian, the first post-Julian emperor to reign for more than a minute, was a self-made man who had to build popular support for his dynasty. One of his more successful PR efforts was to return Nero's pleasure gardens to public use, then to out-do his predecessors by erecting the world's largest amphitheatre in the middle of Nero's lake - an astounding engineering feat that required what must be the Sistine Chapel of drains as well as foundations that go down several tiers of arches beneath the surface.
The amphitheatre was big enough to allow some 50 000 thumbs to go down at once and Vespasian's engineers provided 76 numbered entrances with free-flowing corridors to the seats, enabling all ticket-holders to be in position for the first round of death in only 10 minutes. All modern stadia have copied its general plan, and all have envied the unique adjustable awning that once covered the stands, protecting the crowds from the baking sun.
While stands the Coliseum, Rome shall stand;
When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall;
And when Rome falls - the world.
(Byron, Childe Harold)
(c) extract from Rome, Cadogan City Guides